Subscription scam costs business $3M in settlement

Enquirer readers were suspicious of this bogus renewal notice when they spotted that it misspelled Cincinnati as “Cincinnatti.” The company behind the notices has agreed to pay $3 million in a settlement with the state of Oregon.(Photo: Enquirer file)

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Enquirer Call For Action has retrieved more than $145,000 for readers disputing with businesses.

The perpetrators behind an alleged subscription-renewal scheme that targeted dozens of newspapers nationwide – including The Enquirer – have agreed to pay $3 million in a settlement.

The state of Oregon reached the deal in a suit against 19 companies involved in the subscription scam. As part of the settlement, the companies will step out of the subscription-renewal business altogether, though they admit no wrongdoing.

Separate lawsuits have been filed by state attorneys general in New York, Texas, Missouri and Minnesota. Those cases are still pending.

“Newspapers – and their subscribers – have been negatively impacted in roughly 50 markets,” Caroline Little, CEO of the Newspaper Association of America, said in a statement praising the settlement.

The Enquirer and Cincinnati.com learned about bogus renewal notices sent in the newspaper’s name when subscribers called the Enquirer Call For Action consumer mediation hotline in October.

Patrick McMahon of Green Township said he knew something was amiss about the notice he received because it misspelled Cincinnati as “Cincinnatti.”

The company purporting to offer the subscription was Readers Payment Service, which had a mailing address in White City, Oregon. That was just one of nearly two dozen business names under the umbrella of Orbital Publishing Group, a periodical subscription service.

Lawsuits filed in April by top prosecutors in five states alleged that the companies mailed subscribers bogus renewal notices that sometimes charged twice as much as the actual cost of the publications’ subscriptions. The companies pocketed the difference, the lawsuits stated.

About this story

This issue was first reported after a reader complained to Enquirer Call For Action reporter Amber Hunt. For help with consumer mediation, call our hotline from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday through Friday at 513-768-8833 or fill out this form online at https://www.cincinnati.com/callforaction.